ysabetwordsmith | Poem: "A Ray of Beauty"

This is today's freebie, inspired by

redsixwing. It belongs to the series Feathered Nests, visible on my Serial Poetry page.

"A Ray of Beauty"

The humans were fascinating,
so of course everyone watched them,
but Fwil and Srii had their own reasons.

Fwil was a beth male, but he had
no interest in other males, only females --
who mostly thought he was weird and
sidled away when he approached.

Srii was a gimel female, but she had
no 'special friend' among the modors and
wasn't interested in alephs or faeders,
only the temperate beth males.

Neither of them particularly liked
everyone else's habit of mobbing together,
so they washed up on the edges of their society
and decided that each other's company
was better than being alone.

But the humans -- they
went about in couples all the time.

Fwil and Srii watched them
and wondered what it would be like
to live in a society where that was normal.

When the two of them saw
Ensign Voore and Ensign Harred
taking a table together, they
drifted closer to observe.

Ensign Voore handed
Ensign Harred a handful
of something colorful.

Srii could no longer contain
her curiosity and asked, "What is
the purpose of that artifact?"

"You mean the bouquet of
flowers?" Ensign Voore said.

"Is that what it is?" Srii said,
leaning closer to look. Indeed,
it seemed to be a small bundle of
yellow ones tied together somehow.

"Humans give flowers to show affection
or other feelings," Ensign Voore explained.
"These are daffodils. They mean respect."

Ensign Harred laughed. "I just like them
because they look pretty and smell nice."

"Flowers are a proud assertion that
a ray of beauty outvalues all the utilities
of the world," Ensign Voor said firmly.

It seemed strange to give gifts that
were not edible and could not
be used to make a nest, but
humans did many odd things.

On the way home, Srii picked
a yellow flower and gave it to Fwil.

He hesitated a moment, then took it.

Maybe being a couple wouldn't seem
so odd if they could fit in with other couples.

* * *

Notes:

"Flowers... are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty outvalues all the utilities of the world."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Daffodils have many meanings, of which respect is one.